Spending time with family at Christmas is believed to be very important, because it affords closely knitted people to make new memories together. However, due to duty calls some essential workers will not be able to celebrate Christmas with their families.
Ahmed Ajikobi and Mike Adeyemi speak to people in this category to know how they feel about the situation.
Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi
Police has no religious affiliation
Christmas is a religious festival and police’s work is not in any way attached to religion. All police officers are on duty 24/7, to make life and property safe.
It is our responsibility to make sure that citizens of Kwara enjoy their celebration.
The irony of it is that when others are enjoying their Christmas we will be on duty.
We are all happy that Christmas is here, every officer will buy goods for their children, others send money to their families that are outside the state for the celebration.
While we are on duty that day, our family members will be at home enjoying and thank God for mobile phone as we will be able to communicate with them intermittently and it will seem like we are together.
Kwara State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Adeyinka Fasiu
Our priority is to protect lives, property
I will be in my office to celebrate the Christmas and monitor my officers at their different duty post. Our priority is to protect lives and property.
Before I became an officer, I used to celebrate with friends and family but now I celebrate while on duty with my officers. Last Thursday we held our annual Christmas Carol.
NSCDC PRO, Bello Olorunfemi
I won’t step out of my office
I hardly go outside of my office during Christmas. I will celebrate my Christmas while on duty because our primary assignment is to make sure lives and property are safe.
Kwara State Commandant, FRSC, Sunday Maku
I’ll be on duty to ensure hitch free celebration
As an officer, I will be on duty monitoring my officers at their duty posts. I will be observing their activities to ensure road users drive with care because our officers will be on the road to regulate road users’ speed to avoid accident.
CEO, Max Distinct Music Studio, Max Moses
I work to entertain people on Christmas day
As an entertainer and producer, I organise musical concert every year. Our work is to make people happy.
Nurse Ogbu Amaka, General Hospital, Ilorin
It’s more fulfilling celebrating with patients
Being at the hospital will give me more joy than celebrating Christmas at home. My job is to serve humanity and there is also the oath I have taken to take care of the sick.
You may expect to find joy when celebrating Christmas with your family but there is more joy in spending such time with the sick.
Joseph Teniola, Chief Nursing Officer, General Hospital, Ilorin
Celebrating with the sick has more blessings
As nurse, we have our schedules and rosters. If it happens that I am on duty on Xmas day, I will have no option than to oblige. Ordinarily, I would prefer to observe it with my family, but spending the period with the sick has more blessings than being at home with my family members. This would give those who are bedridden to have a sense of belonging during the festive period.
How’ll celebrate
With Christmas barely 24 hours away, prominent Kwarans including monarchs have opened up on how they hope to celebrate the day.
Allofa of Iloofa, HRH Oba Dada
I’ll celebrate with my subjects
I’m going to celebrate with my subjects and we will rejoice together. We thank God for the gift of life and good health.
Let me use this opportunity to warn everyone against acts of criminality that can make them face wrath of the law, and motorists to drive safely. They should not take substances that can affect their driving.
The Executive Secretary, Kwara Health Insurance Scheme, Dr. Olubunmi Jetawo
I’ll celebrate with family, friends
I will be celebrating the yuletide season with family and friends. Christmas signifies the time Jesus was born. He is our Lord and Saviour through whom we have hope and liberty.
Owa Olota of Odo-Owa, HRH Oba Joshua Adeyemi Adimula
It will be time for reflection, thanksgiving
I will celebrate Christmas with my subjects. I want to celebrate and embrace sons and daughters of Odo-Owa. We will use the opportunity to gather them together and thank God. It will be a time to reflect on the past and give thanks to God. We will also pray for peace and development of the town.
…our best, worst xmas celebration – High profile Kwarans
Christmas is a celebration that most Christians look forward to. High profile Kwarans share with Mumini Abdulkareem their most memorable and poignant stories about festive season in the past.
When I celebrated Xmas for first time without my mum – Christopher Ayeni
I cannot basically give a time as a worst or best Christmas for me. But, 2016 was not palatable for me because that was the year I lost my mum, who died on August 30th, and so I couldn’t celebrate Christmas with her the way I used to. I felt very sad because, it was like a part of me was missing.
But on a general note, we must thank God because as Christians, Christmas is a day set aside not just for merry making as some people erroneously believe, but for us to reflect on our closeness with Christ.
Incidentally, the period is celebrated in the last month of the year which will give us the opportunity to reflect on our actions from January to December. And we should not forget that its also a period for thanksgiving.
But the nostalgia of the period during our youthful years is when you look forward to eating rice and chicken and our parents buying things for us. But now, It’s our children looking forward to that from us.
Expectations for 2018 Xmas
Personally, I want to change my ways of giving by concentrating on the less privileged and children in the motherless home in Kwara State for them to celebrate and have a sense of belonging this yuletide.
My message is for us to live in peace and love as Christians and be our neighbour’s keeper and don’t harbour criminals. Also we should not engage in thuggery because this is a political year in order to have the Kwara of our dream.
